Rendering courtesy of Twining Properties
Empty parking lots, which currently create a void in community connectivity, are slated to become part of a revitalized Winchester Center.
For much of the 20th century, the Winchester Repeating Arms factory in New Haven, Conn., stood as the economic and social cornerstone of the city's Newhallville and Dixwell neighborhoods.
The sprawling industrial complex was more than just a factory; it provided stable employment and a sense of identity for people working and living in downtown New Haven. It also was a bustling hub around which local businesses, social clubs and community activities thrived.
However, the eventual closure of the factory in 2006 destroyed what had been a vibrant center of commerce and culture. Newly built parking lots not only changed the local landscape but represented lost jobs and fractured once-cohesive neighborhoods.
Now, though, a team of developers has an ambitious plan to transform a portion of the old factory site "into a thriving hub that stitches" back together the Newhallville and Dixwell neighborhoods.
Construction on Winchester Green, a $90 million, five-story planned mixed-income and mixed-use development in the former factory complex, now known as Science Park, will begin in the new year following an announcement from Winchester Partners that it had secured funding.
The joint venture includes New York-based Twining Properties and L+M Development Partners (LMXD), a national mixed-income developer headquartered in Larchmont, N.Y.
The Hartford Business Journal (HBJ) reported Dec. 28 that the new development represents the first phase of the Winchester Center comprehensive plan to revitalize the former munitions factory complex in the heart of the city into a new campus with jobs, shops and housing.
As part of the overall project, infrastructure upgrades will be made to the area around Winchester Green, including new private roads and a public park designed to improve connectivity with the city's nearby neighborhoods.
Winchester Green will host 283 mixed-income apartments on an underutilized surface parking lot, adjacent to the existing Winchester Lofts and Winchester Works complexes. The development will include 57 affordable units, featuring a variety of apartment types. Twenty percent of the apartments are to be set aside for below-market rents aimed at those earning 50 percent of the area median income, the development team noted.
Additionally, the Winchester Green building also will introduce 12,800 sq. ft. of new ground-floor retail space along Winchester Avenue and be an all-electric building powered by heat pumps.
New Haven Development to Open in 2026
Winchester Green will be part of the ongoing revitalization of New Haven's Science Park, according to Twining Properties, and include 158 units of housing and a 150,000-sq.-ft., fully leased laboratory and office space at 4-5 Science Park. When complete, the larger Winchester Center could include more than 1,000 apartments, retail, parks and 500,000 sq. ft. of lab space.
To make way for the new construction, a pair of vacant Winchester Arms factory buildings at 270 Mansfield St. will be demolished to make way for a new 196-space parking lot. Phase 1 also calls for the creation of two new streets, Mason Street and Sheffield Avenue Extension, designed to improve connectivity and break up the "superblock" in the area.
Lastly, a new public plaza named Mason Place will be established near the new apartment building, intended for community activities such as farmers markets and arts events.
Plans call for the Winchester Green building to open in early 2026, with the adjacent infrastructure work finished by the end of 2025, according to Winchester Partners.
The urban investment group within Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the major investment partner and tax credit investor on Winchester Green. The senior debt on the project is being provided by KeyBank, along with a tax-exempt loan from the New Haven Housing Authority.
Prior to the Winchester Green closing, an affiliate of Winchester Partners, in conjunction with Science Park Development Corp., secured a $5 million Urban Act Grant for the adjacent infrastructure project from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development for two new private roads and a public park, HBJ noted in its news article.
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